Microsoft begins testing displaying ads in the Windows 11 Start menu – Windows 11

The tech giant plans to use the recommended section, usually reserved for file suggestions, to showcase apps from the Microsoft Store.

According to a Microsoft post On her blogThis feature will initially be available exclusively to Windows Insiders in the beta channel for users in the US and will not apply to commercial devices managed by organizations.

Advertisements in the start menu

Users will be able to disable app promotions through their operating system settings. However, it looks like Microsoft will enable ads by default. The company is actively seeking user input on these tweaks, leaving open the possibility of removing ads from Windows 11 beta builds if feedback shows a lack of enthusiasm or other issues.

Last year, Microsoft ran tests involving placing ads within File Explorer in Windows 11, before finally choosing to suspend the “trial” in beta versions of the operating system. The company's experiments with ads within Windows span more than a decade, with in-place ads already present on the Windows 10 lock screen and Start menu, making their appearance in Windows 11 unexpected.

The fate of those ads is now in the hands of those testing future versions of Windows, whose feedback will play a major role in whether Microsoft will have to exclude them from the final versions of Windows 11 that reach all users.